Batman by Scott Snyder (new 52)

Probably the highlight of DC’s “New 52″ era was the Scott Snyder run of Batman. I tried to limit it to as much pure Snyder work as possible, but there are some other issues added in to help make a cohesive whole.

Prior to the announcement of Zero Year, I had planned to do a “Batman: Zero” book of the #0 issues which covered the early years of Batman and family’s career. That book obviously got expanded with the yearlong arc by Snyder. If you want to focus just on Snyder, cut out all of the issues outside of the main Batman series (although I would keep Batman: Dark Knight #0 and Detective #0). The backup story from #25 could go in a few different places. If you’re using the original issues, it’s just as easy to leave it in place. If you’re using the trades, the story is put at the end of the second trade, and it’s easier to place it before #25. Some people opt to place this in publication order, but the way I have it mapped, it is just a matter of swapping some volumes around on the shelf.

When I saw the prices of the back issues on the secondary market, I got rid of my issues and purchased the TPBs. This book is just the first two trades put together. Batman Annual #1 technically takes place between Batman #8-9, but for pacing purposes, I like its placement here. I did not include any of the Night of the Owls crossover issues.

If there was more material to put with the first arc, I would separate it out to better allow the Batman and Robin Eternal series to fit in better (as it pretty much runs concurrently to Batman #41-50), but I don’t see a need for a skinny book. Also, I’m not a huge fan of B&R Eternal. Batman #52 was not written by Snyder.